The Dreaming Island
by Final Boss Productions
Summary: A boy named Link crashes in an unknown island, where dreams and nightmares come true. Now, with the help of a young girl named Marin and an enigmatic owl, he must find a way to return home, by waking up the revered deity of the island, the Wind Fish. A novelization of The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Second in my novelizations for the "Downfall" Timeline.
1. Chapter 1: Adrift

Link's Awakening

Chapter One:

Adrift

The night and the sea were in a state of unrest. As if the Goddesses were also in turmoil, fighting a battle to last all ages. The boy clothed in green looked at the sky, unsure what to think of it. He had been busy all day, making preparations for his voyage back home. He had packed enough food for the return trip, along with some emergency equipment, not to mention, his sword and shield. However, the boat wasn't large enough, so he had brought only that. In a way it was good. This whole trip had been about self discovery, not some quest for bounty and glory. And he _had _passed his trials, the boy thought. The time for that was over. He had to return where he was truly needed: home.

But this storm sure wasn't going be making that an easy task.

Quickly, he rushed towards the sails. He needed to keep an eye on them. His hands holding tight on to the rope, he saw as a giant wave hit the side of the boat, slightly tilting it. The boy fell to the ground of the boat. By this moment, he was drenched in both sea water and rain. He got up again, shivering. He had been in worse situations, he thought. He had been also alone, and he had managed to get out of them. He was a quick thinker, he surely could find a way to get out alive.

The boat, however, looked as if it could not hold on for long. What could he do? Was this the end? Trials full of hardship, friendships forged over the sounds of blades colliding, all he had to show for that were not scars, but memories. Memories and dreams yet to fulfill. For a moment, for once, he was afraid, and he didn't know what to do. This could not be his final fate. Here he was, his missions accomplished, his duty completed, and the final reward for this was to die a miserable death at the hands of an uncaring ocean. He quickly realized that this could not go on like this. He had to find a way.

Lighting struck nearby. Desperately, he pulled out his compass, trying to see if he was headed in the right direction. For once, he saw something he had never seen before. His compass was spinning wildly. This couldn't be! He thought to himself. The compass was designed to lead where he was needed to be… Could this mean he was no longer needed? He did not want to think about that implication. He needed to get to his homeland. _They_ needed him back.

Another wave struck the boat, sending him backwards. The ship rocked back and forth, almost toppling over at first. More lightning came. It was getting closer. In the dark of the night, he saw as the water became inexplicably more agitated in front of him. An unusually fast wind was blowing, making him shiver thanks to the cold. Even if he survived this ordeal, he figured he would die of hypothermia by tomorrow's dawn.

That's when it hit him. There was a way to survive this night and make his way back to Hyrule by tomorrow morning. Quickly, he retreated back into the lower room inside the ship. He found what he was looking for inside an old chest. There, he had put his old sword and shield. He grabbed both and hung them behind his back. It was a necessary precaution. He could do without the food, but he needed at least these two items with him. He looked around: The walls were creaking, as the waves collided against them. He wondered if they could hold on for long. He looked at the bags of food placed on the floor, which were probably going to be fed to the fishes soon enough. No matter, he thought. He could not be dabbling in idle matters now. He rushed back up the stairs, trying to get near the ship's mast before it was too late. Unfortunately, the steps were soaked in sea water, and he tumbled over them. He could taste blood in his tongue… He hoped that it wasn't a broken tooth. One of the step's edges had collided against his chest, probably leaving a small wound; his right knee was also hurt. Making a conscious effort to stand up again, he quickly went over to the ship's mast, and looked at the small sail. It wasn't a very impressive one, but it was sturdy enough to survive this storm, he reckoned. The sail's ropes were beginning to unbind again, thanks to the mighty wind that threatened both the Boy's life and the boat's safety. The time to act was now.

Taking two ropes in his hands, he tied them both to his wrists, and held on tight. The ropes cut against his arms, and the water only made it worse. He had to sit and put his back against the ship's mast in order to tie a proper knot on each wrist. It was a risky move, but it was all he had. He stood up again, and started to adjust the sail accordingly. Even if the ship was destroyed, the sail was likely to survive. Either way, he was tied already, with no way of losing the sail, or his direction. The lightning bolts were striking closer and getting more constant. He noticed that the rain was also getting more intense. He tried his best to stand still against the wind, but it still tried its best to make him lose his direction, to scatter him and his boat to the immense waters below him.

Then, another wave came. This one was bigger than the others. He tried steering the boat, but it still hit it. Just then, when the boat was struggling to stay afloat, he could see, for a fraction of a second, how a strike of lightning hit the mast of the boat directly, and, by default, him.

After that, the boy in green's vision faded to black.

**. . .**

For a moment, he could barely see silhouettes. They were more like shadows, roaming about. They seemed to circle him, like he was some kind of prey. He thought he could hear laughter, but it sounded like an echo. He felt fear again. The same kind of fear a child feels when he wakes up in the middle of the night, after a bad dream, paralyzed by terror, unable to move or look around, fearing that, in reality, he isn't awake yet, and he might encounter his tormentor the moment he makes a move. That's the kind of fear he felt, while being preyed upon by those formless and faceless shadows. In time however, they also began to fade, and he started to come back to his senses. The rain… He could feel it on his back. His clothes were sticking to his body.

The wounds… He felt pain all across his body. He could not move. During those agonizing moments, he wished he was dead. At least, that way, he would be relieved of the pain of the living. He opened his eyes. It looked as if the rain was still continuing its destructive path, but he wasn't on the boat anymore. No… He was lying on sand. Looking around, he saw some pieces of wood besides him.

He had crashed on a beach. He had survived. For now, at least.

However, he couldn't get up. But he needed to start moving! He tried putting one hand in front of him. The pain was excruciating. He tried to drag himself across the sand, to no avail. He might as well just lie there, waiting for his death to come. He turned over, to face the skies. He saw the stormy clouds encroaching upon him, letting their waters form a grave on top of him. His eyes were closing. For a moment, he thought he could hear voices from far away, but it was probably just an illusion. As his eyes closed, Link, the boy in green, felt a slight relief in knowing that, his duty was at least fulfilled, even if he regretted not seeing his loved ones again.

**. . .**

The girl was doing her usual routine. Her walks on the beach, however necessary, had become a little more wary since last night. The people at the village had talked of a strange ship approaching the island, and the boys had talked of strange monster sightings in the woods. Rumors had started to spread in the wake of the storm. The older persons in the village feared the worst: Pirates had come to the island.

Not to mention, the animals on the beach had become more feral. This made her task of collecting fruit more dangerous than usual. After all, there's so much running one can do when wearing a long skirt and carrying a huge basket on your arms. It was a shame, for the day today was splendid, she thought as the wind blew against her red hair. Her skin, already accustomed to the blessings of the morning star that shone on her island, welcomed it with pleasure. She kept walking down a small, secluded area, a safe spot from most people, where a pair of rocky formations had formed a small crevice. One could either reach it either from below after crossing the beach, or from the top, by sliding down the grasslands southeast to the village. Either way, most people and animals avoided this area, which made it the perfect place to take a rest from the rushed labors of this morning.

That's when she saw it. Or better yet, _him_.

A boy, clothed in green, lying amidst the wreckage of a ship, his skin pale as death. He looked bruised and badly hurt. It seemed the rumors of a pirate attack had not been so farfetched, she thought.

But she could not leave him there… Besides, he did not look like a pirate. She had read about them on the village library, and his boat only had a white sail. But then… How had he ended up here? The island had not had a visitor since… Well, she had never ever thought about that. She needed to help him, he looked as if he was on the verge of death.

"And well", Marin, the girl, thought to herself, "in order to have reached this island, he must have faced a close encounter with death at least. No one ever comes here… And I don't know if he will be able to get out either."

"Where _did_ he come from?"


	2. Chapter 2: Of Swords & Owls

Chapter Two:

Of Swords & Owls

Darkness was fading. Where was he? He felt as if his head was still adrift in the middle of the ocean, spinning uncontrollably. His senses were coming back to him. He swore he could hear hushed voices near. He felt a tinge of pain coming from his right rib. In fact, his whole body ached. However, to his fortune, the nauseated sensation was fading. He felt a huge relief as he tried opening his eyes. Strange, he thought. His vision was blurry, but even in that state, he could not recognize where he was. He remembered he had a _horrible_ nightmare, about his boat crashing and being struck by lightning, and some oppressive shadows…

"Hey! He's regaining consciousness! Dad! Come on!"

"Hush, Marin, don't be so loud!"

Link awakened to see a vaguely familiar face in front of him. It couldn't be… Could it? His mind was still half asleep, so he could barely process what he was hearing, or, more importantly, saying.

"Z- Zelda? Is that… You?" He managed to articulate. In response, the girl dedicated him a hearty laugh.

"Zelda? No, silly boy! You must still be half asleep. My name is Marin, and this man over here is my father, Tarin. I found you lying unconscious down at the beach. At first, I did not know what to do, but my father and I decided to take you in and keep a lookout for you, at least while you heal."

Link slowly started to make sense of his surroundings. After adjusting his eyes a little, he _could_ see that the girl, while she had the same kind of attractive look of her royal highness, Princess Zelda of Hyrule, was quite different. Her skin, a little tanned from the sun, gave off a sturdier look than the delicate state of her aristocratic counterpart. Long red hair reached her lower back, and, unlike the princesses', it wasn't controlled in some overly important braid or anything of the sort. Her hair was instead wild, with some decorations here or there, giving off a more tribal look. The girl was wearing a simple long skirt, and a small brown top. Nothing compared to the royal garments, of course. He figured he must have landed on some island. Not even the commoners dressed like that in his land.

He noticed he had stared long enough at her. A little bashfully, he tried distracting himself by exploring his surroundings. To the girl's right, was her father, Tarin. The man looked nothing like his daughter. He was a little shorter, but with a burly physique, sporting too a huge mane of hair and a mustache. He was drinking from a big cup. He gave Link an easygoing smile, as if to assure him that everything was all right.

"How are ya feeling, Link? I hope Marin isn't too much of a hassle, I know she _can_ get intense."

"Um, it's nothing, really… Wait, how do you know my name?"

Tarin laughed hard. "Heh, wouldn't you like to know? Don't worry, it was engraved on this shield here. I assumed it was yours."

Link looked behind Tarin. A big, wooden shield was hanged on the wall. It was definitely the same one his uncle gave him. Tarin gave him a puzzled look.

"I mean", he said, "You _are _Link, right?"

"Of course I am, don't talk nonsense."

"All right… Just making sure. There were lots of personal belongings in that boat, though."

Link looked around him for a minute. The bed that he was laying on wasn't the only one in the room, there was another one besides it. He figured it must have belonged to either the father or the daughter.

Aside from that, it looked as if the room was the only one that formed the house. Sunlight was creeping in through the windows, and he could recognize the smell of sea water coming from afar. Even if the house was small, the whole house was filled with maritime decorations, such as shells and conchs. Link had never seen a place so small and so lively at the same time.

He incorporated himself on the bed. He tried to make sense of the situation. He first needed to recount the last events before the crash. He had been in the boat, right. He had on him his sword, his shield, and his compass. He had lost the sword, and, judging by the state of his clothes, his compass too. He needed to see if they were among the wreckage. After that, he had crashed on this… Island? Where was he, anyway? How far away from home was he? He needed to make a full exploration of his surroundings, and try to find a way to regain his course, since the storm had passed.

He turned towards Marin. "This… Wreckage. Did you see, by any chance, any swords lying around? And, may I ask, where am I, exactly? I know I must seem rude, but my ship just crashed, and I don't remember any familiar lands nearby by the time the storm started."

Marin approached the foot of the bed and sat on it. "Hm… Not that I remember. My father and I were in a hurry to get you to our home, you see. It's not just you who is in a strange situation, you know? We have never had visitors before. There were rumors that a pirate ship had come to the village to make off with our possessions, and the villagers were not very happy to see us dragging you along, a complete stranger, into the village."

She jumped a little, suddenly. "Oh! And to answer your question, you're in Koholint Island, in Mabe Village."

Koholint Island? He had never heard of that place. That was alarming. There was no possible way he could have crashed on an island no one had ever been to before. He tried getting out of the bed, and he met the excruciating pain of the post-wreckage wounds.

"Careful there", said Tarin. "You might wanna take a breather for the rest of the day, Link. You're not in a good shape, you know?"

Link gave him a little laugh. "Thanks for your concern, Mr. Tarin, but I really need to get going. I need to see if I can salvage something from the wreckage. Besides, I have sustained far worse wounds."

Tarin gave him a worried look. Where had this young chap come from, anyway? He didn't look that much older than his daughter, Marin. What kind of parent would let their son go around, sailing the seas without anyone by his side? Not to mention, how had he ended up here? The boy didn't look like a threatening force, he seemed like a trustworthy fellow, but he wondered… What kind of outcome awaited him, now that he was going to be part of their community, at least for a while?

"Well, Link", he said at last, "If you're so dead set on doing this, then you better take your shield with you, seeing as I don't have any use for it anyway." He said this in a joyful manner, trying to hide his concern for the boy. The shield was heavy, to put it mildly. However, it looked sturdy, and also practical. Not that he would ever know, seeing as he hadn't ever used a sword or a shield, for Tarin was not a man of combat, not even when those bandits tried to ransack the village a few years ago.

Link gave man a nod of approval. "Thank you. Both of you. I will find a way to repay you both your efforts. I mean it sincerely, I owe you both my life."

Tarin shook his head in a dismissive manner. "Don't you worry about it. We were just looking out for you. Hey, if you have any success with your little adventure, would you come to the village to at least eat something? We don't have much here, but seeing as getting a new boat will take a while, we would like to offer you a bit of our hospitality."

The boy in green gave him a quick smile, probably meaning yes, as he exited through the door leading outside, into Mabe Village. The worried father turned towards his only daughter. "Marin… Do me a favor, if you are so kind to your old man. Follow the boy for a bit. See that he doesn't get into any trouble. The beach is not as safe as it once was."

The sun was glowing brightly. Judging by its position, Link calculated that it was almost midday. With his wooden shield in hand (a family heirloom), he inspected his surroundings. Tarin's house was located in a pretty practical area, neither too far from the village, but also not at the center of the whole conundrum. It seemed he owned a small garden, where a few patches of grass and flowers grew, surrounded by a little fence. He kept walking through the small garden, looking around. It seemed that the house was in small hill just at the north of the village, surrounded by other hills with equally small houses. A thin, white as marble stone road led into the rest of the village. Just as he was about to go on his merry way, a voice from behind made him stop.

"Hey… Wait!"

He turned around to see who it was. Of course, it was Marin.

"Hey there! Did you forget something?"

"No… No, it's not that… It's just that, well, I was trying to… Um… Dissuade you."

"Dissuade me?"

"Yes, dissuade you. I think that's the correct term."

"Well, Marin", said Link, a little amused. "Dissuade me from what, exactly?"

"From going to the beach, of course."

Link gave a sigh. "Look, I really appreciate your concern, but I promise you, I will be fine! I just need to check on my belongings, that's all. I intend to come back, even. I know I am not in the best of shapes. I intend to spend the night here, at least, so don't worry."

"_Appreciate it?!_" The girl suddenly said, getting a little angry. "It sure doesn't look like it! You were dying down there! And all you intend to do, is go back there, weaponless!"

She breathed heavily, trying to regain some of her relaxed demeanor. "Come sit with me over there."

"But… I need to get going…"

"Oh come on! It's just a moment! Are people from your land in such a hurry all the time?"

Link gave a sigh, and followed her to a nearby bench, north of the village, mumbling something about hyperactive women, like that girl from Holodrum he had met once. It seemed that he was a magnet for these kinds of women.

He approached the white bench. He could see that it was at the edge of small plaza, where a small weather-vane-like statue of a rooster stood. Some dogs were running about in the plaza, playing with the flowers nearby, or trying to catch some butterflies. A couple of children had stopped their game of ball and looked at them with curiosity from a distance. He paid them no mind for the moment. He sat next to Marin. In truth, the girl was very pretty, which was odd, given her father's burly look. She had a mixture of innocence and liveliness at the same time planted upon her face. She looked at him in a somewhat serious, somewhat curious manner.

"All right… Link, right? Why do you need to leave this island in such a hurry? Where do you come from?"

"It's a long story, Marin… Suffice to say, I left my homeland, in search of training. I finally completed it, and I need to return to my Kingdom to fulfill my duties to the royal court."

"A royal court? Where _is_ your kingdom, exactly?"

"That's the thing, I don't know! I had never seen this island before! I come from Hyrule, have you never heard of it?"

"... No, Link, sorry..."

This was a dire situation. Hyrule was the most important kingdom across the seas. It was, after all, the land blessed by the Goddesses themselves! Just how far away from home was this little island, anyway? He tried to make sense of the situation once again.

"All right... Now it's my time for questioning. _Where_, exactly is this island, Marin?"

"Well... I am in the same situation as you, in a way... I don't know! No one has ever left this island before, Link."

"What do you mean, nobody? Surely you get visitors, you need to commerce with neighboring nations!"

"No! All I know from the outside world is from the books on the library. Maybe... Maybe you should check it out! Maybe it will help you. Or go ask old man Ulrira! He's sure to know the answer to your problem!"

"So... What you're trying to tell me... Is that you have never left this island? Or anyone else, in fact?"

"...Yes. I'm sorry."

Link was in shock. This was not good. Oh Goddesses, where had he ended up now? No matter. He would get to that later. She said there was a library, and this old man surely was the village elder or something along those lines. He would ask them.

"Well, thank you for the information, Marin. I need to go then, before the sea takes away what remains of my ship."

"All right, Link. Word of advice: take that southward route. I know you do not know your way around the island just yet, but it's better if you sneak quietly out of town for now, until we make sense of this. Just follow the path through, past the rocky formations, and you should reach the beach. But please be careful. The Octoroks have been near the shore ever since last night. I don't like this at all. They normally stay far away the deep parts of the water."

"All right. Hey, Marin... Thank you. Again."

"No problem, really. Hey, one last question!"

He turned around. "Yes?"

"Were _you _a member of the royal court of your kingdom?"

"Heh... Not exactly. Let's say that I am one of the few remaining descendants of the royal line of the knights of Hyrule." With a smirk, the boy turned around, headed south of the village, leaving the girl in awe.

**. . .**

He trekked through the grasslands. Just as Marin had suggested, he had sneaked past most people in town, avoiding their gazes. He wasn't yet sure what to think of them. The outskirts of town were just bits of grass leading downwards, ending in, just as Marin predicted, Rocky formations. He had been walking for half an hour already, and the sun was getting to him. These clothes were not built for this kind of climate. To make matters worse, Tarin had been right in a way. He desperately needed to eat, he hadn't eaten since yesterday, and carrying the weight of his shield under this sun wasn't making his journey any easier. His back was starting to ache, and the wounds he had sustained were giving him great grief. Plodding down a rocky formation with a limp was no easy task, as he discovered.

But the salty smell was intensifying. He was probably near the beach by now...

Just then, from behind a rock wall to his left, something jumped at him. Instinctively, he reached for his shield, seeing as he had no sword, and protected himself. After repelling the creature, he took the opportunity to analyze his surprise attacker. Reddish skin, a mass of wriggling tentacles... It was able to crawl across the land with easy, and, unlike some of its sea-faring cousins, it was hungry and vicious, yearning for human flesh.

"Oh. An Octorok."

He had not been surprised. Back in his homeland, these mollusks had a penchant for preferring land, looking for small prey to eat, and, in turn, serving as food for other animals, such as Link and his uncle. The Octorok was not to be treated lightly, however. As a defence mechanism, an Octorok would continuously keep in a secret chamber inside it's mouth a kind of rock (hence the name) formed from sand and other minerals it ate. If threatened, it would spit it out towards its atacker, and it would probably knock him or her out. Link, even after all his training, kept an eye on the little buggers, even if he was used to hunting them down.

What he wasn't used to, however, was that the creature jumped at him again, instead of fleeing.

Trying to keep the creature away from him with his shield, he felt as the creature grabbed his injured left knee with its left tentacle. Screaming in pain, he put his right fist into one of the creature's eyes. The creature let him go. Seeing his chance, he made a run for it. Once again, to his surprise, he saw the creature give chase too.

"So that's what Marin meant by more aggressive Octorocks."

This truly was odd. These animals weren't chasers. They stayed away from people. People hunted them down. Why was this one chasing him? Had it smelled his open wounds and gone feral? Or could it sense that now Link, hero of light, savior of kingdoms, was injured now, and thus an easy prey? He did not know. He kept running as fast as he could, with the pain in his rib punishing him for every step, until he fell face first in the sand.

Trying to make an effort to stand, he looked around. No trace of the beast. However, in front of him was what he was looking for: his ship. Or, at least, what remained of it.

The sail was tattered, flowing with wind. The ship had broken in half, with the sacks of food lying around the beach. It truly had a melancholic feel to it. His only way of returning home lay there, now a husk of a once great dream. He approached it. Looking around, he decided to enter what remained of the inner wasn't much to explore, though. The maps of Hyrule, the sea charts, the books... They were all wet and broken. However... There was a small pouch near. He opened it, and was relieved to find that his wallet was at least intact. He went outside.

Next to a piece of driftwood, there was his precious compass, broken in two. He held it in his hands. It, like many of his things, was a gift. No matter, he thought. He held on to the illusion that he could find a way to repair it. Even if he had had a hard life, Link was still a young boy, with much to learn.

Now... Where was the sword? Where... It sure must have been near where he was found...

And there it was, lying under some wood and sand. The very weapon that his uncle Rusl gave him. He could not believe his eyes. At least this was still intact. Taking it out of its sheath, he put it against the sun, letting it shine like a beacon in the middle of the beach.

In the middle of his excitement, he could not hear the Octorok coming from behind, ready to finish what it had started.

Lunging at him, it pushed him against the driftwood, making him lose balance. He tryed to get up, but his leg was hurt, as it had collided with some wood, opening the wound more. Ignoring the pain, he took a stand. The mollusk circled him. It seemed as it was inhaling.

The time was now. He was ready.

With a lound thump, it spit out a huge rock, bigger than the ball those children were playing with at the village. His shield in his right hand, he deflected the blow, though he could feel the rumbling in his arm. Back in his first days adventuring, the rocks of these monsters sent him backwards. Well, even if injured, that wouldn't happen again. Now, it was _his_ turn. Lunging at the creature, he stabbed it in its left side, tearing out a tentacle.

"Now, you see why you are the _prey_ here?"

Roaring in pain, the creature tried to grab his head. Ducking and rolling to the right, he seized his chance: the creature's right eye, wich he had hurt earlier with his fist, received a full stab. He let the blade sink in, not pulling it out until the creature was dead.

Looking at his enemy's dead husk, he silently congratulated himself, until he noticed that something was still watching him.

"_So... Maybe the prophecy has come true._"

"Huh?" He turned around. From one of the rock nearby, an owl was watching him, but it was no ordinary owl. It was almost twice the size of Link, with brown feathers and golden eyes. Had this creature... Spoken? It couldn't be, thought Link. With his sword in hand, he ducked as the owl flew towards him, and stood on what remained of the ship's mast.

"_Do not be alarmed, young one. I am not your enemy. It is said, on the lore passed down in the ancient tribes of this island, that the hero destined to wake the Wind Fish would hail from the forbidden land blessed by the Goddesses. And now, you, young hero, set adrift by the tides of fate, stand here before me."_

"Who are you...? What do you want? And what do you mean by destined to wake this... Wind Fish?"

_"You have seen a lot for someone so little, I'm afraid. You wish to leave this island and return home, do you not? I'm sorry to inform you that no boat will enable you to cross the waters that surround this island. It is both a paradise and a prison. But... Hope is not yet lost, lad. I will meet you in the woods by nightfall, if you so wish. If you follow my instructions, you will be able to return home." _

With that, the majestic owl flew away, leaving Link in awe.

So, to make things short, an owl had just spoken to him, telling him about some prophecy, and he was his only way out of the island. He had said to meet him in the woods at nightfall. Well, there were a couple of things he wanted to do before. It was time to check that library and talk with the elders.


End file.
